David haegee



(No Model.)

D. HARGER.

STREET PAVEMENT.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

DAVID HARGER, OF DES HOINEQIONVA, ASSIG-NOR OF ONE-HALF TO DAVID D. HARGER, OF SAME PLACE.

STREET-PAVEMENT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 360,152, dated March 29,1887. Application filed August 21, 1886. Serial No. 211,491. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID HARGER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Des Moines, in the county of Polk and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in StreetPavements; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specifica tion.

Myinvention relates to pavements for street and alley use, and has for its object the provision of means for preserving the blocks of which the pavement is formed against theinjurious effects of moisture and heat beneath the pavement, and also the provision of means whereby the top of a stone, glass, pottery, metal, or wood pavement is made to give a firm'and secure footing to horses, and also to deaden the sound of their hoofs clashing upon it, as well as the roll of vehicles over it.

To carry the first object of my invention into practice I employ tiles of burnt bricks or glass, which are laid upon the foundation forthe pavement or blocks. These tiles I pro vide for the purpose of under drainage, and they serve to carry the moisture off and keep the bottom of the blocks dry and prevent them from being heated and rotted from the ill effects of the water and consequent heating and molding of the wood.

I prefer to make the tiles with drainage means upon the top, or through them, from bottom to top; or both these means may be employed, and the grooves or d rainage-troughs may be out in one or both directions across the top of the tile, and the openings through the tile can be made in the grooves or troughs. I prefer to have the grooves made to cross each other at about right angles, so that they will carry the water off, no matter in which way the tile may be placed in relation to the pitch or slant of the pavement. These tiles are placed upon the bed of sand or some similar bottom or bed,which will allow the water to be carried away when once it has run off of the tiles.

The provision which I make for giving the hoofs or shoes of horses a hold upon the pavement and to deaden the sound of their hoofs and the roll of the wheels over the blocks when stone, pottery, glass, or metal blocks are used is to have asunken or depressed space on top, which may have one or more projections or studs, which extend up about even with the upper surface or edge of the block. The sunken or depressed space may be filled with sand or dirt, or, if left open, will soon fill with sand, manure, or other dirt, and will thus afford a means for the horse to take hold with his shoes or hoofs and prevent his slipping, and at the same time deaden the sound of his hoofs upon the pavement and the roll of vehicles over it. The projections or studs serve to hold the dirt or sand from slipping or moving around too freely, and also gives a complete purchase or hold for the foot of the horse. The edges of both the projections and the surrounding wall or edge is beveled or rounded, to prevent it from being broken off or cracked. This sunken space or depression need not be over one-quarter inch in depth; but I would not be understood as confining myself to any particular depth, nor to any particular substance of which the block is made; but when the blocks are of wood it will not ordinarily be found necessary nor desirable to have the depression. I believe pavingblocks can successfully be made of glass, and I have mentioned that substance in connection with pottery, stone, and metal.

\Vhere the round wood blocks are used, I prefer to place them small end uppermost, and partially fill in with gravel to a height of one to three inches and then fill up to the top with sand. This makes a secure and substantial pavement.

In laying a pavement I prefer to slope the upper surface from the curbstone outward and downward for the distance of about two feet, and prefer to have a fall of about one inch to the foot. The street from this lowest point gives alley slopes upward toward the center. The slope from the curbstone down may extend to a greater distance than I have mentioned,

or it may be shorteryorI may run this surface out horizontal without any slope, as I have above described, or the slope from the center of the street may be continued to the curb. The circumstances of the case and the situation upon the street will determine the width and precipitancy of thisslope. The object of this slope is to prevent the water from collecting along the curbstone and dropping or sinking down around it.

The accompanying drawings illustrate what I consider the best means for carrying my invention into practice. Figure 1 is a sectional view of a pavement. Fig. 2 is a plan of a tile, and Figs. 3 and 4 plans of modified forms of tile. Fig. 5 is a plan view of a hard block, showing the sunken top; Fig. 6, a section of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a plan view of a portion of the pavement.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures where they occur.

A is the bed of sand or similar material. B are the tiles of burned brick or glass, laid upon this bed. These tiles are of any form, but are preferably rectangular in form and about square. Their size may be varied, as desired. A tile or brick of about one foot square will be found to be about the most convenient size, and the thickness of the tile will preferably be about two inches. On top of these tiles I may provide grooves or channels to carry the water off to the side and drop it down upon the sand bed beneath. These grooves or channels are marked b, and are preferably made or pressed at right angles to each other, as shown in Fig. 2. When thus run in two directions across the tile,the grooves or channels'will serve to carry the water off, no matter in what direction the tiles are laid with reference to the street-slope or inclina-.

tion of the street. Instead of or in addition to the grooves or channels, the tiles may have openings or holes through them, as shown at b, and when the grooves or channels and openings are both used the openings are preferably formed in the grooves or channels, as shown in Fig. 2, and where the grooves cross each other the holes or openings will be at the intersection of the two grooves or channels.

The edges or sides and ends of the tiles or bricks are preferably scalloped out, as shown at 12*, which gives space for the passage of water down between them, and for any sand or other substance which may get upon them to work off down between the tiles or bricks. The tiles thus scalloped and grooved, or punctured, or grooved and punctured,or perforated, also forms a complete drainage for the under surface of the pavement and effectually carries off all moisture as soon as it passes off the tiles.

The tiles or burned bricks may be found to be more especially useful where wooden blocks are used, and I contemplate the use of wooden blocks, as well as of glass, pottery, stone,

feet.

metal, or other blocks naturally found or molded, with which the under drainage of tile or burned bricks may be used withgood ef- The wooden blocks, when formed of round pieces sawed off in suitable lengths, are set in place with the broader or wider end down, so as to present a flaring space with the wide end at the top. This space will be filled with sand, or may be filled apart of theheight with gravel and the filling completed with sand. This manner of setting the wooden blocks serves to give a more compact and reliable'pavement. All the pressure upon and'wedging of the filling material tends to tighten it in between the blocks and push the blocks downward, instead of throwing them up, as in the case where the broad end of the block is up. Asufficient amount of sand is thrown uponthe pavement to allow for compression and to cause the space between the blocks to be completely filled and wedged in by the hoofs of horses and the passage of vehicles. By having the gravel in the bottom of the space and sand above, the horses foot will not come in contact with the gravel at all.

When the blocks used for this upper surface of the pavement are not ofwood, but are formed of any hard inelastic material-such as glass, pottery, stone, metal, or other material-I provide means for giving a foothold for the horses and for deadening the sound of their hoofs and the roll of wheels over it. I accomplish this by forming a sunken or depressed space in the top of the block and providing studs or projections, which extend up even with the sides or edges of the block. This construction isshown in Figs. 5 and G, where 0 represents the hard block, and c the depressed space at the top, leaving a ridge or edge, 0", all around it, and having studs or projections 0 set at suitable distances apart in the sunken or depressed space in the top of the block. The depth of this sunken or depressed space will be about one-half inch,

and may be filled up with sand orearth when the pavement is laid, or may be left to become filled up by dirt, sand, manure, &c. This space,

when thus filled, forms not only ahold for the horses foot, but also serves to deaden the noise and prevent the clatter of hoofs and the roll of the vehicles from making such a noise as is ordinarily done. The studs or projections c serve to give purchase or foot-hold for the horses and prevent the dirt or sand from be ing so easily dislodged; but they may be omitted and the sunken space left to be entirely filled with sand or dirt. The projecting edge a and thestuds c are rounded, to prevent their being cracked or broken off around the edges.

-When the blocks are molded, this depression and thestuds may be formed in the molding process; but when the blocks are sawed or cut out the depression will have to be cut in them and the edges and tops of the studs rounded.

Sand for filling in between these blocks will also be used as well as for filling the depressions in the top.

In laying my pavement I preferably slope the pavement downward from the curbstone for the distance of two or three feet, as shown at D in Fig. 1, and then the pavement will be sloped up toward the center, thus causing the depression or channel which forms the gutter to lie some distance from the curb, thus preventing the entrance of water around or beside the curb, and also affording araised surface for horses to stand along the curb, and for carriage wheels. This downward and outward slope of the pavement along the curb also serves to brace the curbstone, and enables me to use thinner or narrower stones for the curbing than can ordinarily be used; but this portion D may, if desired, be laid horizontal; or it may be run on the same slope from the center of the street to the curb-line in some cases. Ordinarily I do not propose to use any connecting material; but in certain situations-as, for instance, along the channel or gutter and close to the curb-the blocks may be-secured by pouring between them a mixture of coal-tar and rosin. I do not cover the tops of the blocks with this material, as I have found that it closes the pores of the wood and serves to retain the moisture and causes the wooden blocks to heat and rot or dry-rot.

The tile B may be formed of glass as well as of ordinary pottery or burned brick, as the manufacture of glass has become much simplified and cheapened.

A common brick of ordinary size may with profit be used at some points, where a fullsized tile cannot be conveniently used, as along the curb or at corners.

The use of the tiles of the size named enables me to take up any small surface or extent of the pavement to lay or inspect water, gas, or sewer pipes without disturbing any great surface of the pavement, and the necessity for having connections of this sort laid before the pavement is laid is obviated, which is often required now, even for unimproved lots,where the ordinary plank is used for laying the blocks. The use of the tiles also obviates the use of cement bottom as well as board bottoms, which are often used. Both the board bottom and the cement bottom prevent the escape of moisture, and all the dampness is held and the blocks quickly rotted,while with my sand and tile bottom nothing of this kind can take place, as the water is rapidly carried off through or between the tiles or sand. The cement bottom, being laid on an incline according to the slope of the street, carries the water toward the curb and causes it to collect at the low points, which will raise the blocks up and permit extraneous matter-such as the sand and gravelto get under the blocks and soon destroy the pavement, making it uneven and bumpy.

If desired, the coal-tar and rosin can be used between all the blocks, but should not be spread over the top of the blocks, for reasons above given. Placed between them, it makes the gravel firm and secure.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s

1. In a pavement, a tile, for use under the blocks, having grooves or channels on its upper surface leading from side to side of the tile, to carry the water off down between the blocks, so that the water or dampness which may gather on each tile will be conveyed directly down under it and not be carried any distance under the pavement, and provided with scalloped edges which afford. openings between the tiles when laid.

2. In a pavement, a tile, for use under the blocks, having grooves or channels formed in its upper surface and extending from side to side of the tile, said grooves intersecting each other and provided with perforations formed through the tile at the intersections of the grooves or channels, as set forth.

3. In a pavement, a tile, for use under the blocks, having scalloped edges which afford openings between the tiles when laid to aid in drainage and assist in relieving the substratum from dampness.

4. A paving-block having a depression in its upper end and a raised edge or rim around it, thereby forming a confined space for the reception of dirt, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. A paving-block having a depression in its upper end, a raised rim or edge around it to form a confined space on top of each block for the reception of dirt, and studs or projections in said depression or space extended up to a height about even with the raised rim.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

DAVID HARGER.

Vitnesses:

I. N. KALB, A. G. BUI-IRMAN.

ICC 

